John D. Sarver was born around 1826 in Ohio. He married Mary L. Dodge on November 13, 1853, and they had at least three children: William, born around 1855; Sarah, born around 1857; and Frank, born around 1859. The family lived in Illinois in the 1850s, and they moved to Chariton, Iowa, in the late 1850s. He worked as a lawyer, and by 1860, he owned $300 of personal property. He supported the Republican Party, and he served as vice president of the Republican State Convention in 1859. He served in the state legislature sometime in the 1860s.

 

On October 7, 1862, he received a commission as a 1^st lieutenant in the 34^th Iowa Infantry. He became a quartermaster on October 15, 1862, and he resigned on February 13, 1864, as a result of poor health. He returned to Chariton after leaving the army.

 

He celebrated the Republican Party’s victory in the election of 1864, and he denounced northern “Copperheads.” He died in Harrisonville, Missouri, in December 1867.

SOURCES